For example, it is believed that Neanderthals had reddish hair but that a different gene caused that than the conventional one we see today:
The Neanderthal Genome Project began in July of 2006, and in May of 2010—just over a decade ago—researchers published the initial draft of the genome of one of our closest extinct relatives. Our genome overlaps with about 97–98 percent of that of Neanderthals, thanks to us sharing a common ancestor …
Thanks to this work, we now know details about Neanderthals that the archaeological record alone could never have provided. For example, fragments of DNA from specimens found in Spain and Italy showed that at least some Neanderthals likely had pale skin and reddish hair—although, interestingly, the variations for this coloring are different from the variants found in modern humans. Apparently, redheads among Homo sapiens evolved separately…
The full picture of the interactions between Homo sapiens and Neanderthal populations during the period when these groups overlapped in Europe and East Asia is still murky. (To make matters even more complicated, it seems that Neanderthals and Homo sapiens also interbred with Denisovans, another distinct human group.) Most humans today have less than 4 percent Neanderthal DNA.
Anna Goldfield, “Mapping Human and Neanderthal Genomes” at Sapiens
Some of us are still sceptical about how distinct these groups really were.
See also: Researchers: Neanderthals used same tech as modern humans, contrary to theory. The Neanderthal has demonstrated his inferiority by his complete inability to be as stupid as evolution theory requires.