Planet of the Apes?

In Stanley Kubrick's classic ‘2001 Space Odyssey’, (in my opinion one of the most philosophical profound films ever made) the evolutionary quantum leap for the tribe of hominids comes about when as a result of them touching the sheer edge of the alien’s monolith. That experience launches them into tools using ea which culminates in space travel. We know that evolution does not work in that way and that one cannot point out to a single event in the history of our ancestors with the sort of instant impact described in the film. Not even the ‘inventions’ of fire and the heel.

However, the event described in Kubrick’s film (based on a novel by A, C Clark raises the intriguing question of the effect on an intelligent species of an encounter with the artefacts of a superior civilization. Let’s take a speculative example (but unfortunately no entirely: implausible): Suppose humankind disappears from the face of the Earth but leaves its inventory largely intact. The vacuum created would be filled by all sorts of creatures. New ecosystems would be created in cities taking advantage of the shelter stored food and tools left behind. Primates and chimpanzees in particular are likely to take advantage of the opportunities the new situation provides. I think that it's fair to assume that it won't take long for chimpanzees to learn the use of knives, axes, spares and ropes. It is also conceivable that the use of such tools would revolutionize their way of life.

My question: Is it not conceivable that the situation described could be a catalyst for a new evolutionary path for chimpanzees leading to Planet of the Apes world, or is there some fundamental genetic brake that would make that impossible?