The Pandemic Arc: Expanded Narratives in the History of Global Health.

This article examines the concept of pandemics through an evolutionary and historical lens, arguing that understanding the full "pandemic arc"—from pathogen emergence through local proliferation to global spread—provides a more comprehensive framework than focusing solely on visible epidemic outbreaks. Using plague, smallpox, and HIV/AIDS as case studies, it highlights how genomic and paleogenomic research reveals long-term pathogen evolution, zoonotic reservoirs, and overlooked geographic and temporal dimensions often absent from traditional, human-centered epidemic narratives. The article emphasizes that pandemics are ecological and evolutionary phenomena shaped by human-animal-environment interactions over centuries, and that integrating these perspectives can enrich global health histories and inform future pandemic preparedness. It also critiques Eurocentric biases in pandemic historiography and advocates for interdisciplinary approaches combining paleogenomics, bioarchaeology, and traditional history to better understand and address pandemics.