Make me a star: Crescent hoop earrings from the southwestern edge of the Khaganate – Identity and status markers

Abstract

Earrings with a star-shaped pendant (also mentioned in literature as zvjezdolike, Ohrringe mit Sternzier, and Ohrringe mit Sternverzierung) are one of the rare types in the Avar cultural circle to which researchers pay special attention and dedicate separate papers. In recent times, archaeological research on the Avar Period in Croatia has made significant progress, primarily in processing previous results and discovering new sites in the eastern parts of the country, and especially in the easternmost parts, the area of Western Syrmia (Srijem). Renewed research efforts in the microregion brought to light a relatively wide variety of such earrings with diverse morphological characteristics and decoration, as well as material choices and, accordingly, production methods. This study aims to assess hoop earrings with a star-shaped pendant as markers of status and identity using existing typology and models while emphasising the differences in their production and materials, as well as the late 8th-century fashion trends.