The integrated analysis of seasonal energy deficits: problems and prospects

The emergence of energy flow studies is reviewed, from their origins in ecosystem research in the 1950s, to their application to agricultural systems suffering from the 'energy crisis' of the 1970s, and the application of Optimal Foraging Theory to small-scale societies. Methodological problems are then discussed, in particular problems of measuring human and draft animal labour, ways of assessing fuel energy and the contribution of biomass to cultivation, and the need to define appropriate spatial and temporal units for analysis. Finally, the scope for studying seasonal energy deficits by means of an integrated analysis of energy flows is considered. The household unit is identified as the most promising unit for such analysis.