Amulets. Amulets were ornaments, gems, scrolls. Etc.. Worn as preservatives against the power of enchantments, and generally inscribed with mystic forms or characters. The "earrings" in Genesis 35:4 were obviously connected with idolatrous worship and were probably amulets taken from the bodies of the slain Shechemites.
They are subsequently mentioned among the spoils of Midian. Judges 8:24. In Hosea 2:13, is another like reference. The "earrings" in Isaiah 3:20 were also amulets.