Maegan Hanway

Maegan Hanway-Smith is a PhD Student in Egyptology. A proud Nebraska native, she earned her B.A. from the University of Nebraska at Omaha in 2022, majoring in Religious Studies, and minoring in Native American Studies, Ancient Mediterranean Studies, and Art History. She earned her M.A. in Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations from the University of Toronto in 2024.

Maegan’s primary research interests include topics of cultural diversity and regionalism, the concepts of unification as a state, the “Egyptian” identity, everyday life beyond the periphery of the central state, non-elite burial traditions of the Middle Kingdom, and ceramic analysis. Maegan has explored these interests working with collections at the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM), the San Antonio Museum of Art, and the collection at the University of Toronto Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations Archaeology Lab. Maegan has also participated in fieldwork at Gadachrili Gora and Azizkendi Tepe in the Republic of Georgia and has experience with GIS, coding, and ceramic analysis.

Much of her recent work has focused on Middle Kingdom ‘soul houses’ by analyzing the ceramic material, understanding the production methods utilized, and re-analyzing early excavators’ comparisons to domestic architecture. This research is ongoing.

In her free time, Maegan enjoys trying new restaurants and cooking with her husband (they consider themselves to be big ‘foodies’!), doing Ashtanga Yoga, tending to her plants, listening to true crime podcasts, and playing with her cat, Teddy.