Paleolithic rock shelters often include several hearths located in different parts of the site. In this paper, we analyze relevant data from Middle Paleolithic Tor Faraj rock shelter as a case study of smoke density in correlation with hearth location and functionality. Since one of the major negative fire products is smoke, which has an immediate effect on human health, we used computer simulations to analyze the effect of various parallel hypothetical hearth configurations on smoke density in the shelter, as categorized by the average smoke exposure recommendations from the World Health Organization (WHO) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The simulations enable us to investigate various hearth activation possibilities affecting smoke density in all the site areas, thus enhancing the understanding of hearth location and functionality in Paleolithic rock shelter sites. The results correspond with ethnographic studies of sites where hearths for sleeping are located at the back wall of the shelter and explain, for the first time, the reason for this placement. The number of parallel active hearths was found to be limited by smoke density factors, despite the ventilation afforded by the rock shelter's high, wide opening, which also left it vulnerable to the effects of wind. The distance between the hearths also influenced smoke density, especially between the drip line up to the rock shelter center. Thus, these areas were probably more suitable for short-duration activities such as cooking. We further concluded that the hearths at Tor Faraj were most probably activated at the time of need and not necessarily simultaneously. By correlating wind statistics from the Meteoblue website with our smoke density simulation results, we could deduce that intensive occupations at Tor Faraj in the middle of winter (January) would have been problematic due to wind affecting smoke dispersal at the site.

中文翻译：

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旧石器时代中期岩石庇护所遗址的炉膛管理：约旦 Tor Faraj 的烟雾密度分析


旧石器时代的岩石庇护所通常包括位于遗址不同部分的几个壁炉。在本文中，我们分析了旧石器时代中期 Tor Faraj 岩石庇护所的相关数据，作为烟雾密度与炉膛位置和功能相关的案例研究。由于主要的负面火灾产品之一是烟雾，它对人类健康有直接影响，我们使用计算机模拟来分析各种平行假设炉膛配置对避难所烟雾密度的影响，根据世界卫生组织 （WHO） 和环境保护署 （EPA） 的平均烟雾暴露建议进行分类。模拟使我们能够研究影响所有场地区域烟雾密度的各种炉膛激活可能性，从而增强对旧石器时代岩石庇护所遗址的炉膛位置和功能的理解。结果与对庇护所后墙处的睡眠壁炉的地点的民族学研究相吻合，并首次解释了放置这种位置的原因。研究发现，平行活动炉膛的数量受到烟雾密度因素的限制，尽管岩石庇护所高而宽的开口提供了通风，这也使其容易受到风的影响。炉膛之间的距离也会影响烟雾密度，尤其是滴水线到岩石庇护所中心之间的密度。因此，这些区域可能更适合烹饪等短期活动。我们进一步得出结论，Tor Faraj 的壁炉很可能是在需要时启动的，而不一定是同时启动的。 通过将 Meteoblue 网站的风统计数据与我们的烟雾密度模拟结果相关联，我们可以推断出，由于风影响了现场的烟雾扩散，在隆冬（1 月）在 Tor Faraj 的密集占领会带来问题。