Which Maya period is usually dated from about AD 250 to 900?

The Maya period usually dated from about AD 250 to 900 is the Classic period.

The Classic period is one of the principal divisions used to organize Maya history, following the Preclassic and preceding the Postclassic. Scholars commonly place it from about AD 250 to 900, although the exact end date varies by region and some chronologies extend the broader Classic era toward AD 950. The period is associated with the expansion of powerful Maya city-states, monumental architecture, dynastic inscriptions, and sophisticated developments in art, astronomy, mathematics, and writing.

Classic Maya society was not a single empire. It consisted of many competing kingdoms and city-states, including Tikal, Calakmul, Palenque, Copán, and Caracol. Their rulers formed alliances, fought wars, exchanged tribute, and sponsored temples, palaces, carved stelae, and inscribed monuments. Long Count dates on monuments are one of the features that help define the period.

The ninth-century decline of many southern lowland centers is often called the Classic Maya collapse, but it was not a single event and did not end Maya civilization. Northern centers such as Chichén Itzá and Uxmal remained active, and Maya communities continued through the Postclassic period and into the colonial era.