The spread of agriculture along the Amazon and its tributaries gave rise to large permanent villages and towns and distinctive art styles that are best preserved on beautiful pottery. Archaeological sites contain quantities of broken pottery, once used for cooking, storage, eating and as burial urns. These sites are often situated on low hills or bluffs overlooking river flood plains. These are ideal places for people to farm the rich soils of the plains and the firmer ground above the floods. They could grow different crops year round and could also hunt and fish to supplement their diet.

On bluffs along the Orinoco River in Venezuela, archaeologists have found distinctive pottery known as Saladoid. The pieces are decorated with modelled and painted designs in white on red. The wide variety of pottery types include flat circular griddles used for toasting foods, in particular manioc.

Saladoid pottery dating from about 2000 years ago has been found in the Guianas of north-east South America and Saladoid people had also migrated to the West Indies. They brought with them their pottery, farming technologies, and foods such as manioc. 1500 years later, manioc was still an important food for their descendants, the Taíno, in the West Indies. Early Spanish reports mention manioc bread cooked on pottery griddles.