People of European heritage are especially prone to skin cancers. Studies have suggested that even a few sun burns in your lifetime can increase your risk of future skin cancer by a large amount.
So, why doesn't it seem like skin cancer was that common in the past? Wouldn't working all day outside lead to a lot of sun exposure and high risks of skin cancer?
Before other responses come in, you might be interested in the previous responses related to the topic in question.
Sunburn and Roman remedies for it as described by Pliny were mentioned in this thread by u/RexSueciae
Medieval remedies for the sunburn, some of ancient origins were explored in this thread by u/sunagainstgold.
Input concerning practices in ancient Egypt and medieval France can be found in this thread by u/waspocracy and u/grantimatter.
And last by not least, you might some information in my previous response to a similar question regarding the prevalence of the skin cancer in the past.