When did the Maya civilization end?

The date usually given for the disappearance and collapse of Maya civilization is 900 A.C.E.. At that point, the Maya, who had built great stone cities, complete with pyramids, palaces, temples, and other massive structures, suddenly abandoned these cities. The cities had served as ceremonial centers for the Maya, and their collapse did not accompany a massive epidemic or other demographic disaster like the ones that characterized the post-Columbian world. Most of the Maya, in fact, were probably absorbed by neighboring peoples, while others persisted in the same areas in small villages with far less complex social structures. By 1200 or so, virtually all of the great Maya cities had been abandoned. The reasons for the Maya collapse are unknown, and remain one of the greatest mysteries of pre-Columbian America. Most scholars hypothesize that a combination of demographic, ecoological, and political factors brought about their downfall. But in any case, the collapse of the once-mighty Maya was virtually complete by the time Europeans arrived on the Yucatan Peninsula.