We are so fortunate to have such great products in the modern era.
Originally, a great part of the smoking process was to drive off water content. One method was to salt the meat to facilitate the removal of the water. Typically that process took about 6 weeks and THEN the meats were smoked. Salt is damaging to both wooden and brick/stone structures that were built for smoking.
The smoking process then helped remove additional amounts of the residual water that caused spoilage, and imparted flavor as well.
Traditional smokehouses or "meat houses" were wooden, roughly square, many with a conical roof. The fire was made in the floor. Pegs or nails allowed a more dense pack of the pork or other products. The use of green wood, sawdust, fruit woods, or even corn cobs were used as smoking media. The idea was to smoke, not have additional heat. A small fire would be stoked and then be allowed to essentially smolder the remainder of the day. It was generally re-lit the following morning.
A wooden smokehouse often utilized clapboards (hand hewn), made of poplar, with the chinks between boards filled with horse hair or wool, mixed with a binder. Other times it was left as it was and simply packed into the gaps. The wooden smokehouses obviously held less heat and allowed the smoke to dissipate. A benefit was that it allowed more oxygen into the sheltered opening and caused a hotter smoke initially. The detrimental effect was that it took longer to smoke completely.
Some smoke houses actually maintained the storage environment for months or years. But there was a bigger problem, of insects, vermin and spoilage due to moisture.
One solution was to actually place a layer of stucco between the moisture and the meat. So having a wooden smokehouse with stucco exterior and interior allowed the structure to breath to a certain extent, but prevented some of the dangers of insects and vermin.
The object was to allow smoke to penetrate over time and multiple smokes, sometimes taking up to two years.
Either way, Good Luck!!!