 Conductors first began to use violin bows or rolled pieces of paper before the modern baton was introduced.The first reported use of the conducting staff in a performance dates back to 709 BC, during which the leader, "Pherekydes of Patrae, giver of rhythm" had,

...stationed himself in the centre and had placed himself on a high seat, waving a golden staff, and the players on the flute and cythara were...placed in a circle around him...now when Pherekydes with his golden staff gave the signal, all the art-experienced men began in one and the same time...

On 8 January 1687, Jean-Baptiste Lully was conducting a "Te Deum" to celebrate Louis XIV of France's recent recovery from illness.As was the common practice, he was beating time by banging a long staff (a precursor to the baton; the French word "bâton" actually meaning "staff") against the floor when he struck his toe, creating an abscess.