Zachary Nelson is an American archaeologist, epigrapher, and scholar, known for his contribution to academia with a focus on Mayan civilizations, mesoarchaeology, ancient Maya language, and Nahuatl. Nelson earned a bachelor's with honors in anthropology from Brigham Young University in 1998. In 2000 he earned a master's in anthropology from BYU, followed by a PhD in Anthropology from Pennsylvania State University in 2005. Nelson was also a post-doctoral fellow in Anthropology at Brown University. He currently serves as a senior archaeologist at ENTRIX, Inc., in Salt Lake City.

He lives in Provo, Utah, with his wife, Julianne, and his three children.