Master sintering curves were constructed for dry-pressed compacts composed of either a nanocrystalline or a microcrystalline ZnO powder using constant heating rate dilatometry data and an experimentally determined apparent activation energy for densification of 268 +/- 25 and 296 +/- 21 kJ/mol, respectively. The calculated activation energies for densification are consistent with one another, and with values reported in the literature for ZnO densification by grain boundary diffusion. Grain boundary diffusion appears to be the single dominant mechanism controlling intermediate-stage densification in both the nanocrystalline and the microcrystalline ZnO during sintering from 65% to 90% of the theoretical density (TD). Based on both the consistency of the calculated activation energy as a function of density and the narrow dispersion of the sintering data about the master sintering curve (MSC) for the nanocrystalline ZnO, there is no evidence of either significantly enhanced surface diffusion or grain growth during sintering relative to the microcrystalline ZnO. The MSC constructed for the nanocrystalline ZnO was used to design time-temperature profiles to successfully achieve four different target sintered densities on the MSC, demonstrating the applicability of the MSC theory to nanocrystalline ceramic sintering. The most significant difference in sintering behavior between the two ZnO powders is the enhanced densification in the nanocrystalline ZnO powder at shorter times and lower temperatures. This difference is attributed to a scaling (i.e., particle size) effect.