Archaeological evidence for stilt-house settlements, or pile dwellings, has been recorded in diverse wet environments around the world. The first-millennium AD stilt-house villages in the Brazilian state of Maranhão, however, are poorly known. Difficulties in conducting archaeological investigations in seasonally flooded areas have restricted our ability to understand the societies that lived in these unique settlements. The results of recent fieldwork using non-invasive techniques to map, date and characterise these sites point towards a number of similarities and differences in their spatial organisation, material culture and social structure.

The Fraser's dolphin (Lagenodelphis hosei) is distributed in tropical and subtropical pelagic waters worldwide between 30°N and 30°S. The first report of this species in Brazilian waters occurred only in 1997. The northernmost report, up to now, occurred in Ceará State in 2001. The purpose of this work is to report a live stranding of Lagenodelphis hosei in Caburé city situated in Maranhão State (01°31′S 45°07′W), northern Brazilian coast. This stranding was reported through four photographs donated by a fisherman in August 2006. The specimen had an estimated length of 250 cm and was apparently emaciated, indicating that the dolphin could have presented some pathology. Despite the conservation activities, the meat of the stranded specimen was used as a food source by local fishermen and the carcass was left in the sea before the arrival of the researchers. This is the first confirmed report of a specimen of L. hosei for the northern Brazilian coast.