We are more closely related to white cromagnon. They were smart, had larger brains, and were the first to begin something special in human advancements (tools, language, art, social order, agriculture, law) roughly 40,000 years ago. We interbred with neanderthal, passing this on to them. For a long time, Jewish (Arab hybrids or Turks) neanderthal has been falsely pushed as the source of intelligence and human development. We now know it's the opposite. Which aligns with the biblical account of Adam and Eve.